FEATURE7 July 2023

Chloe Fowler – research hero

Features People Research Heroes 2023

The Market Research Society launched the Research Heroes programme to celebrate the sector’s unsung heroes. Chloe Fowler has joined the cadre of Research Heroes 2023.

CF-RH23

Chloe Fowler, Founder, Nest Research

Chloe is an independent consultant who runs The Nest Research. She was chair of the Association for Qualitative Research (the AQR) for four years, is a new MRS fellow and is a member of the MRS Pride steering group.

Chloe was nominated because she "is just one of those people who adds sparkle to the market research industry without even knowing it. Chloe has worked in the industry for over 25 years and continues to be just as passionate, inspiring, and dedicated to the importance of conversations which in turn provides those nuggets of insight that makes what we do so special."

 What is the biggest challenge you have faced during your career?

Becoming chair of AQR just a few months before the pandemic was an unanticipated challenge (to put it mildly). Not only was I trying to figure out what on earth it meant for the agency I ran, and my life in general, but I also wanted to make sure that we supported our members who were going through so much. I am so proud that we managed to find ways to bring our community together. We continued to run courses, we created support opportunities and I think we’ve all come out of it stronger than before.

What will be the next big trend or development in the research industry, and why?

What I love about qual is that while we think everything is changing, often very little is. Fundamentally, we still need to communicate with real people (sorry ChatGPT). I suspect that recruitment for qualitative recruitment will continue to evolve. Our needs have shifted and we need to speak to more diverse participants than ever before. Technology has enabled us to interact across geographies and in new ways but we still need to find ways to ensure that participants are bona fide, engaged and happy for us to spend time, however brief, being part of their lives.

Who inspires you as a researcher? 

I’m a reader and a writer. So although there are many individuals who’ve inspired me professionally, it’s the novelists I read who inspire me in new ways. They are the ultimate observers of the human condition, they seek the truth, they solve puzzles. They just don’t have to condense it into PowerPoint.

View the full list of Research Heroes 2023

@RESEARCH LIVE

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